12th Doctor: One Brave Soul
by GingerIsTheCat
Summary: The Doctor helps a young 19th century woman, Emily, explore a previously undisturbed passageway in her newly inherited house that she has wondered about for years. It doesn't appear on the master plans of the house. With no one to turn to, and having had feelings of dread build up inside her about it far too long, she advertises for a "brave soul" to accompany her in exploring it.
1. Chapter 1

_The Doctor helps a young 19th century woman, Emily, explore a previously undisturbed passageway in her newly inherited house that she has wondered about for years. It doesn't appear on the master plans of the house. With no one to turn to, and having had feelings of dread build up inside her about it far too long, she advertises for a "brave soul" to accompany her exploring it. Where it leads will terrify them both._

 _ **Help wanted: One brave soul. If interested, come to 147 Parkplace Road to inquire.**_

The Doctor looked at the simple advertisement with curious bafflement. This was so strange, maybe it was just what he been looking for. Maybe it was she needed someone to take care of a spider or ground squirrel loose in the attic, or something ridiculous like that. But maybe, just maybe, it was something interesting. There was only one way to find out. He decided to check it out.

The Doctor walked up the muddy path, which had just received a fresh downpour of rain. The sky had not yet fully cleared up, and threatened to revert to it's showers.

He tapped the brass cat knocker on the door and waited a moment, curiously trying to peer up into one of the dirty occluded windows. He snapped his head back when suddenly the door clicked as a key clanked around in it, and slowly opened, revealing the pale face of a girl around 17, maybe 18, her face framed by inky black hair.

"What do you want?" she asked quietly.

The Doctor held up the advertisement sheepishly.

"Oh, yes. I'm terribly sorry about that. Please, do come in. " her nose looked somewhat red, as if she had recently been crying. "I'm Emily, but I'm really not feeling like myself today. It's a combination of this horrible dust, and a bit of loneliness. My aunt just died. She was my only living relative, and I was - well, I was her lone heir. " she said gesturing around at the large house with a hint of a sad smile playing at her lips.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. It must be very hard to be alone in here. I have something that could bust up this dust quite quickly, if you like."

She smiled tiredly "Thank you, but the dust is the least of my worries right now."

"Your advertisement was rather vague. What do you need a brave soul for?"

"Are you brave?" she asked out of the blue, taking the Doctor off guard.

"I came, didn't I? "

"That doesn't answer my question"

"Are you?" the Doctor asked, shooting her question back at her

"I want to be"

"Ditto"

"So perhaps we can be brave between the both of us."

"What is this terrifying thing that you can't face alone?"

"A door. I won't sell the house until I know what's behind it."

"Can't you just open it then?"

"I've always had this feeling of dread about it. I suppose it stems back to when I first discovered it while playing here as a girl. It was hidden behind a wardrobe that I had squeezed behind in an effort to hid from my aunt. When I asked her about it, she grew quiet and forbade me from ever going into that room ever again. It's been locked ever since, but of course now I have the key." She said rather pleased. "The strange way she acted about it has always made me feel like there must be something dreadful behind it. "

"It could be that she was just concerned for your safety. It must have some practical reason for being there. it could have been for accessing some utility. Do you have the master plans for the house? Surely that would include it."

"I do, but they don't show anything there."

"So you need someone's hand to hold. Is that it?"

"Yes." she confessed.

"Alright." he said holding out his hand.

"I know this must sound silly." she said suddenly growing embarrassed.

"Not at all. We all need help facing some sort of fearsome thing, at some time. Yours is just unknown. And you want to confront it. There's nothing wrong with that."

"If there was anyone else, I wouldn't had advertised for a stranger. I know it must seem strange, but you have to understand, I've been alone for a very long time, really. I was orphaned at a young age, and my aunt was an invalid in her latter years. There's no one else. And -and, I just can't bear to face it by myself, in this big empty house." tears grew in her eyes as she said this.

"I understand" the Doctor said kindly, offering his hand again. She took it this time, still a bit uncertain.

"It's this way" She led the Doctor through the main room, and left down a long narrow hall. Finally they reached an old door on the left side of the hall, and she slowly removed ring of brass skeleton keys out of her dress pocket. "Here we are" she said glancing up at the Doctor. He took this opportunity to get a better look at her. She had black hair running down her back, and large mournful grey eyes, with just a hint of violet at play in them. She reminded him a bit of his granddaughter, Susan, with her delicate ethereal quality. Only she was a bit paler.

"Can you open it, or should -" The Doctor started, not unkindly.

"I'll do it" she said firmly, but her hand shook a bit as she rummaged the key in the lock. Finally it opened with a creak, and they stepped into the dusty and dimly lit room. It was scattered with an eclectic collection of discarded furniture, and white sheer curtains hung from the windows. On the right side of the room the Doctor saw the wardrobe that she had spoken of, which had been moved close up against the wall.

"Let's move this out of the way. No angry aunts to scold us" the Doctor said with a silly grin as he walked over and strained to move the heavy piece of furniture. Emily helped him and they soon had it scooted out of the way. It was a small rectangular wooden door, just tall enough, perhaps, for a single person to fit through. In its lower left side was a small hole for a key. The Doctor looked at Emily. "Are you ready?"

Emily took a deep breath and tried to concert herself. She had been looking down this whole time. That familiar feeling of dread that had come over her whenever she had approached the room was washing over her again full force. She felt a bit overwhelmed by it, but obsessed with finally knowing what lay behind it. All these years, that feeling of curiosity over the whole matter had nagged at her just as strongly, maybe more so. And at the same time she felt silly. Silly for being afraid of a door that probably contained nothing of importance. She looked up at the grey haired man who so patiently waited for her to answer, and felt grateful to have someone with her, waiting in such a kind manner. She mustn't let him down.

"Do you want me to do it?" The Doctor asked finally. "I could peek in and then tell you what's there. Probably nothing."

"No, no I'm sorry - uh, I'm sorry, I never asked your name."

"Doctor"

She gave him a puzzled look but went on. "Yes, I'm sorry Doctor, but I need to do this myself."

"Of course. And don't worry, I'm right here." he said as he squeezed her hand.

Hand shaking, she removed another key from her pocket which was separate from the rest, and much smaller. " I think it's this one. I found it hidden in a cranny somewhere." She slowly inserted it into the lock and felt it click into place as she turned it. Adrenaline suddenly rushing in anticipation, she gave a quick glance to the Doctor and then swiftly pulled open the door.

Inside was a long, dark, narrow, and grimy passageway. At the very end it looked like it might slope, or possibly even drop off somewhere.

"Well there you have it. A strange tunnel. Who knows what it's for."

"But we have to see what's in it don't we? Look, it goes on, but then what? "

"Well,now that you've seen that there aren't any _spring-heeled jacks_ inside, I'm sure you can manage to shimmy in and take a peek for yourself." the Doctor said, really just not wanting to get his favorite red velvet jacket dirty. At the same time, he was a little disappointed that something interesting hadn't jumped out at them that he could puzzle over. "I'm sorry, Em, but I really must be going" He turned to leave.

"Please Doctor, stay with me" she pleaded looking up at him with her pale face and great grey eyes full of both fear and longing.

How could he refuse a face like that? Nodding at her, he removed his jacket, revealing his waistcoat and white dress shirt beneath. He draped it over a nearby chair and crawled into the tunnel. Emily followed behind him. At the end of the brick tunnel it didn't drop off, but instead made a sharp downwards curve, almost like a slide. Looking back at Emily he spoke to her "There's something unexpected. Shall we go on?"

"Alright." Emily nodded.

"Fine then. Stay brave and follow me. Who knows what's down here." he padded down the slide, and found himself at the bottom of yet another, slightly wider, passageway.

"What could this be for? What if it's a family treasure?" she asked excitedly.

"Wouldn't that be wonderful" the Doctor replied.

It was pitch black at the bottom of the curved slope, and a light suddenly warmly radiated from behind him. Emily had lit a candle.

"Always prepared" she smiled at him.

He smiled back. So, what should we do now? Is your curiosity satisfied, or shall we keep exploring? It's a lot more than I expected."

"Yes, let's keep going around that turn. If it's a dead end we can turn back." Suddenly she spotted a few worn metal candle holders poking out the side of the passage wall, and she stuck the candle into one. "I brought a few candles. Here, you take a few, and a match. Between the two of us we'll get this lit. Who knows, it might even make a nice reading cove." she said shoving several enthusiastically into his hands.

The Doctor looked over to her at this. She sure was eccentric once she got over her fear. And apparently, she liked to read in strange, secluded places; he liked her, he decided.

"Come on, let's finish exploring first." she said crawling ahead of him. The Doctor followed, and soon they had made their way turning and winding through several passages, until they came to one that abruptly stopped and went up. Emily shone a light up into the dark, and they saw a metal door.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor looked at Emily. "Are you ready?"

Emily was enjoying their adventure now. "Yes, but do you think we can reach it?"

"I don't know. Maybe if you give me a boost I can -" Flashing his candle around, the Doctor spotted a rope of some sort lying coiled in the dimly lit corner. "Curiouser and curiouser" he whispered with his raspy Scottish lilt. 'Look Emily!" he said pointing with his candle.

Emily grabbed it. "Curious indeed. How did this get here? I hope no one has been coming down here. No matter, we'll solve the mystery soon enough. Here, you boost me up and I'll lower down the rope. "

The Doctor pushed up on the grate,making it fly open into wherever it led, and gave Emily's foot a hoist up on his hand she she could pull herself up.

"What do you see up there." The Doctor called up, suddenly becoming concerned when she didn't say anything for a moment.

"I don't know, you have my candle. Here, hand them to me and I'll lift you up. " First a dainty white hand reached down to grab the candles, and the next moment the rope appeared in front of him. The Doctor grabbed onto it, noting that it felt strange, almost like nylon, but covered in grime.

" It's pretty dark, but I see a pipe overhead. You may be right about the utilities. Anyway, I can use it and the rope as a pulley."

"Clever girl, but are you insinuating that I've put on some weight?"

He could almost see Emily smiling as she called back "No, I'm just fond of contraptions" from the dark overhead.

"That's very good. They often come in handy for me." He grasped the rope tightly and attempted to climb up it as Emily pulled. Between him, her and the make-shift pulley, he was soon clawing his way up through the opening. Emily gave him a hand, and for a moment they stood together looking around in the dark.

"Where do you suppose we're now" Emily asked inquisitively.

"I'm not sure. It feels like a big room. Probably a place to access the plumbing, like you said. " the Doctor mused. As he said this, Emily shone the candle around and walked forwards slowly. After a moment of careful treading, the back wall became illuminated. Along it was some extremely dusty, cobweb covered, and strange looking machine. The Doctor thought it looked a bit like an old ENIAC vacuum tube computer. It was like a large cabinet covered in dials and glass tubes and metal wires and faded gauges.

"What the dickens is that?" Emily wondered out loud.

"It looks like one of those contraptions that you like. Only much more complicated"

"What does it do, do you think? What are all this wires and tubes for?"

"I can't be sure until I poke around. Push a few buttons"

"Are you sure that's wise. Poking around in the dark with a machine of which you don't know the function?"

"Quite frankly, It's probably a terrible idea, but that's just how I roll."

"Alright, but I'm keeping a close eye on you" Emily teased.

"This lever looks like it switches on the power."

"That's funny, we don't have electricity." Emily said with quizzical amusement.

"You didn't think you had an enormous machine under your house either."

"Fair point. Go ahead, I want to see what happens" Emily said with happy excitement.

The Doctor nodded with a mischievous grin and swiftly pulled down on the lever. For a moment all for still, and then they heard humming. A loud whirring noise came screeching from the machine and the hot musty the air started to feel heavy and warp slightly. Soon the whole room was twisting in front of them, creating a sense of vertigo and then swift forwards movement, but they themselves never seemed to move out of place. And then all was silent. Their candles had gone out. They were somewhere very dark, with muffled noises coming from somewhere else.


	3. Chapter 3

They listened in the darkness, trying to make out what exactly the noise was. It sounded like unintelligible mumbling. That failing, the Doctor reached around in the dark to see what was nearby. His fingertips brushed against a smooth wall. He followed his hand along it and then came to another suddenly he briefly crashed into Emily, who let out a small screech. The Doctor may have been used to things like this happening, being seemingly teleported, but it was more than Emily had bargained for, and she couldn't help but feel scared; still, she hated that she had shown it, and that her bravery had faltered. Determining that they were in a very small closet-like space, the Doctor crouched down to see what might be stored in such a place. He grappled his hands around in the dark and soon found himself gripping what felt like a mop. Could they be in a closet? At around the same time, Emily had found the light switch, and she now flipped it on, shining stark and revealing light on their surroundings; they were in a closet. It was filled in the back by a shelf of what might have been medical supplies. In the opposite wall was a white steel door, which just now opened to reveal a woman of about thirty staring incredulously at them.

"What are you doing in there?" she demanded. Her light brown hair hung attractively tucked behind her ears and curling softly out in a short bob. Her dark brown eyes, however , glared at them accusingly.

"Er, well, you see- the Doctor faltered, waving his hands around his head. Where are we exactly?"

"You are in a mental hospital, and if you don't explain yourselves immediately I might assume you belong here."

She must be joking, the Doctor thought. This was a modern hospital. Surely they couldn't detain them without a psychological evaluation. Unless, of course, they managed to come across as mad, which was certainly possible given the circumstances.

Emily wasn't as confident. She was from another time and place, and she had heard stories of people being institutionalized for all kinds of reasons. And after all, what if they were mad? They didn't even know how they had gotten to this strange place.

The Doctor pondered their options. Of course they had to investigate why this had happened. They could pretend to be insane so as to stay, but that would be of no use to them if their movements were restricted, and they were possibly medicated beyond any possibility of clear thought. No, they needed to have autonomy. "I am the new Doctor" he said flashing his psychic paper in the woman's flustered face.

Her face underwent a few contortions and then settled into calm resolution "Doctor, of course. I didn't know you were to arrive so soon". Please wait here a minute." she said blankly while closing the door and walking off.

Something about this didn't seem right to Emily. Who shuts the new Doctor back in the closet?

She was suddenly reminded of castor oil, and her aunt's many ways of tricking her into taking it. Hadn't she seen that same calm face then? As if everything would be fine, and then it wasn't. Like a spider calmly eyeing its prey.

"Doctor, however we got here, I think we need to leave, now "

"Why do you say that, Emily? I think she bought it hook line and sinker." He said still pleased with himself.

Emily sighed. "I don't think your piece of paper convinced her, at least not of what you wanted." She said with concern.

"That's ridiculous" he snorted at her rudely. "She called me Doctor straight away without question"

Emily spoke more firmly now. "She shut you back in the closet. I'm thinking 24 hour mental evaluations for both of us if we don't get out of here soon."

"Alright, I hate being fussed over anyway." The Doctor Shone his sonic up at an overhead air vent and caused it to fall."

"Did you have that all along?" Emily asked in baffled amazement. "What on Earth is it?"

"I call it a sonic screwdriver. I told you I like gadgets too." He said with his silly grin.

"Who are you" Emily demanded. She didn't like this. First they had ended up in a strange place for unexplained reasons, and now her elderly gentleman companion was turning out to not be quite as she had thought.

"No time for that. Ladder!" he said pointing to a short step ladder in the corner. Emily retrieved it and they both climbed up into the vent.

It was so narrow that they had to crawl on their bellies, and Emily felt claustrophobic. "What if we get stuck?" she asked with worry in her voice.

"We won't. I have a terrific sense of direction." the Doctor bragged cooly.

"Ha! Why don't I believe that?" she said with a soft chuckle, in a voice that was superficially amused but still cracked with notes of concern.

"Because you didn't notice this vent map that I peeled off the wall" he turned his head around to show her the yellowed piece of paper held between his teeth. She couldn't help but notice how crazy he really did look with his hair flaying around from all the static produced as it brushed along the metal vent.

"Very handy. If only everything was that clearly explained." She answered with hints of sarcasm.

"Emily, I know you aren't happy with our predicament, but it was your tunnel that we crawled into, and it was your mysterious machine in the basement of your house which took us here. By all logic, I should be holding you responsible."

She paused from the irritated look she was giving off from behind him and calmed down a bit."You're right. I wanted an adventure, and now I've got one. I'm sorry." she said with an apologetic smile. "I'm just a little uneasy, but I'll get over it soon enough."

"Good, because we're going somewhere new now."

"Where?"

"Out of the shaft, and into a room to hide until night. We're going to ghost this place until we figure out what's going on." he said enjoying how cool that sounded as he soniced the vent and started to pry it off.

"What if we run into a real ghost?"

"Then we'll ask it what's up."


End file.
